In a conveyor system, conveyor pallets are used to transport goods that cannot be transported directly on the conveyor system itself. These products could require a pallet because of their shape or size or due to their sensitivity, fragility or inability to be positionally stable.
Conveyor systems may have straight sections, curved sections, diverts, merging mechanisms and the like and may run at varying speeds. As such, the pallet may be subject to sudden acceleration, deceleration or radial forces. If conveying an unstable or off-centered product these forces may cause the product to topple or become dislodged or uncontrollable, which may result in damaging the product, may require shutting down the conveyor system or may reduce the ability to be able to orient the product in a controlled manner.
Conventional pallets are generally simple platforms that may have some fixtures or mechanisms for supporting a product thereon but can still be quite unstable, particularly when undergoing acceleration, deceleration or radial forces.
Thus, there is a need for a pallet that addresses at least some of the challenges of greater stability while supporting a potentially unstable product, for example, a top heavy or an off-center product.